Subtle Boundaries
by StormOfTheNorth
Summary: Mimi's a little distracted. Hakuoh's a little too curious. HxM


**AN:** Hey everyone! If you've seen some of my other stories you may notice that I write an awful lot for books/games/etc with tiny fanbases. WHY DO I DO THIS YOU ASK?  
>WELL... It's because I have a soft spot for sections that deserve more attention. I don't write purely for reviews, though I do love them :D ok? OK.<p>

PRESENTING the very first ever Hakuoh/Mimi story on FFnet. EVER. Har har har. I think it's potentially adorable, if only Haku-chan wasn't so oblivious...

Aaaaand just to clear up some details, in this fic Mimi is 16 which would make Hakuoh... 18? Something like that, anyway.

Enjoy! :D

**DISCLAIMER:** Nope. Nope. Nope. If DuelMasters was mine, I'd make them dub the rest of the series. And make them localize the TCG again ;_;

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><p>She's watching him. Everyone's watching him, and for good reason too. There was just something about the way he held his cards, or the way his bright blonde hair moved gently in a breeze which was nothing more than non-existent due to the fact they were all indoors, windows shut. Then again, the way he duelled made you believe anything was possible.<p>

"Mimi, you're drooling a little…"

Oh boy. Today was going to be another long day.

.

.

.

"Great duel, Hakuoh!" Shobu exclaimed.

"Yeah, you really owned the zone!" Rekuta chipped in.

Hakuoh flashed a charming smile towards his friends, which made several girls nearby faint from excessive nose-bleeding.

"I suppose I'll see you in the finals soon, Shobu."

"Hmph. Don't count me out just yet, blondie," Boy George cut in with his trademark smirk. He walked over to the group, pyjamas squeaking with each step.

"Yeah," Shobu replied with a grin. He was fired up now. "Whoo! Is it hot in here or what? Come on guys, let's get drinks!"

They laughed and followed Rekuta who was attempting to slow down Shobu. He might as well have tried to give Kokujo a mohawk.

Sayuki noticed Mimi walking a little slower than the others.

"Hey, what's up?"

Mimi blinked. "Mmm? It's nothing…"

"Don't beat yourself up so much, okay?" Sayuki said firmly. When Mimi looked puzzled, she sighed.

"Everyone has a bad day once in a while! The other guy just got lucky."

"Oh," Mimi smiled. "I'm not upset about losing my duel or anything…" Saiyuki frowned.

"Then what-"

"Hey! You two! Come on, Boy George's duel is starting soon!" Shobu called loudly.

"Coming!" The girls replied in unison. They looked at eachother.

"JINX!" Mimi yelled, then ran towards Shobu. Sayuki pouted and wondered frustratedly how Mimi was so good at that.

.

.

.

"I'll finish you off, with Legendary Bynor," Boy George smirked. "Todome da!"

"Guwaahhhhh!" The girl he was facing cried. "Why! Why…! If only I had one more mana!"

"Don't go crying on me now," He said. "_I'm_ the baby here."

"That was an awesome match!" Shobu said excitedly.

"Mmhm, mmhm," Rekuta agreed, nodding and clapping. "Although Boy George could have been a little less harsh…"

"Mmmphmmhhmmm!"

"Huh? What was that, Sayuki?"

"…Mmmmph."

Mimi silently agreed - it was a good match. Boy George was as sharp as ever. He was wearing his blue elephant pyjamas today rather than his pink bear ones, and although Mimi found the latter set to be much cuter, it seemed that his chances of victory increased by 30% when he wore the former. Mimi pondered this for a while before a familiar voice broke into her thoughts.

"He wasn't bad at all, was he? What do you think, Mimi?"

Mimi's eyes instantly tracked the source of the smooth voice, and her throat went a little dry.

"Uhhh, eaahh r'tty ood…" Okay, really dry.

She shook her head vigorously at Hakuoh's confused expression, swallowed, then tried again.

"Yeah, he was good," Mimi said, going for a casual tone semi-successfully. "Except that last move was a little risky. He shouldn't have toyed with her for so long."

Hakuoh nodded with a smile (that _damn_ smile). "Just what I was thinking."

They stood in silence for a little while. Shobu and the others had gone over to Boy George which had left them alone. Together. Okay, so they were surrounded by swarms of duelists, Hakuoh fangirls, and a strange group of shiny-eyed guys who kept following her _everywhere_, but they didn't count.

She started to sweat a little, and cursed her currently absent conversational skills. Her speechlessness had been happening a lot recently, especially around Hakuoh. And goodness knows when this started happening or _why_… wait. Nah, she knew why.

And she knew exactly what she wanted too. Mimi gulped, opened her mouth and prayed something eloquent would come out, but Hakuoh beat her to it.

"You've been a little quiet these days, Mimi," Hakuoh murmured. His eyes were still on Shobu and his friends which she was thankful for, because she was sure that her face was getting redder and redder, five shades a minute.

"W-well, I was just about to say something, you know!" Mimi said, slightly flustered. Hakuoh blinked and turned to look at her. "Oh?"

"Uhhh…" Mimi floundered a little. "So, uhh, you never usually enter these kinds of mini tournaments. Why'd you go to this one?"

"Ah, yes," Hakuoh said, chuckling a little. "Shobu insisted, you see. And I had this weird feeling that there were a lot of people wanting to challenge me."

"These guys are all tweens!" Mimi blurted, making several duelists glare in her direction. "I'm sure heaps of real high-level duelists want to duel you as well!"

"Mmhm, you're right. But it's kind of nice to duel casually every once in a while." Another smile. She was going to go crazy soon.

"Duelling for fun sounds like Shobu," she said with a laugh. "You used to be so serious, too."

At this Hakuoh fully turned to face her, his bright blue eyes locking with her own darker ones. He regarded her with an intense expression, which made Mimi wonder if she had said something strange.

"Don't get me wrong," he started evenly, "I'm still a serious duelist when I need to be, and I still play to win."

She nodded dumbly, averting her gaze, which made Hakuoh frown.

"Something _is_ wrong, isn't it?" Mimi's eyes widened.

"No! No, nothing's wrong!" she burst out defensively. Hakuoh brought a hand up to his chin, and looked at her thoughtfully.

"You could have, and _should_ have won your duel today, you know." Mimi looked sheepish, but she smiled a little.

"Oh you know… It's nice to duel casually every once in a while." Hakuoh laughed.

"Right, right," he said. He was still smiling, but now there was a strange light in his azure eyes, which made Mimi feel slightly embarrassed, so she distracted herself by watching as Shobu started his next duel. Hakuoh's tall figure was drawing closer for some reason. She could tell without looking. She could tell because she could feel it. She could hardly believe it, but her hairs were on end and her heart was pounding. She shut her eyes because if this was the start of one of her fantastical daydreams, she sure as heck didn't want to get out of it. She couldn't possibly have prepared herself for the suave voice that sounded so close-

"-Well you'd better be serious when you're facing me."

Mimi jumped and squealed. That was…

"I'mgonnagowatchShobu'sduelnow!" Mimi darted away, putting as much distance between her and Hakuoh as possible. She needed time to cool off. Now.

What Hakuoh found odd was that she ran in the opposite direction to where Shobu was.

.

.

.

"I think she hates me," Hakuoh told Knight with a frown. The older man looked at him in confusion. "Say what, now?"

"Mimi, I mean," Hakuoh continued. "She tries to avoid me as much as possible, and she won't even look at me."

Knight heard the kettle start to whistle and strode to the kitchen where he poured the boiled water into a cup.

"Bolshack's teeth, Hakuoh… What did you do to her?" Knight muttered, dropping a teabag into the cup.

"Exactly what you told me to," Hakuoh answered, but Knight still looked clueless. The young duelist sighed. "You said I would thank you later, but I have yet to appreciate the results of your… instructions."

Knight's eyes widened suddenly. "Wait a sec… You're not talking about what I told you at Dr Root's place two weeks ago, are you?"

Hakuoh nodded. "Is something wrong with that?"

"I wasn't serious, Hakuoh!"

"Oh…" Hakuoh said, scratching his head. "Could've told me that earlier."

Knight face-palmed. Hakuoh was smart and an excellent duelist to boot, but he could be so _blonde_ sometimes. Knight wearily walked back to his seat, and sipped his tea. "So what exactly have you done?"

Hakuoh looked thoughtful. "I bit her ear once."

"You did _what?_" Knight spluttered, tea spraying over the coffee table. "I didn't even tell you to do that!"

"That's disgusting, Knight," Hakuoh remarked. "Anyway, it was an accident. I was whispering in her ear like you told me to, and I remember you said something like, 'the closer you are, the better.' Well I just got too close is all. I didn't get to try that other thing-"

"Good," Knight said firmly. "Don't go there. Jeez Hakuoh, do you even know what you're doing to the poor girl?"

"Who was the one who told me to do those things in the first place?" Hakuoh retorted. "You should apologize to her."

Knight raised his hands in defeat. "Hey, alright, alright, it's my fault."

"Just tell me one thing though," Knight started. Hakuoh nodded briefly. "What is Mimi's expression like around you?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Hakuoh threw out dejectedly. "Her face gets really red… And her eyes look around a lot. I think she's fine looking at me, but she just doesn't make eye contact. I have no idea what she's thinking though."

Knight took in Hakuoh's words with interest. "You don't say… Maybe you'll finally get laid after all!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"No, never mind," Knight said quickly. "Listen, things aren't as bad as you think they are."

"She thinks I'm a creep, Knight!"

Knight waved dismissively. "Anyway, you want to… build on your friendship with her right?"

He grinned inwardly when Hakuoh nodded. "Well, all you gotta do is…"

Knight admitted he felt a little bad when he saw Hakuoh listening to him, trust written in his bright eyes.

_Oh well. He'll thank me soon enough__._

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><p><strong>FIN :)<strong>


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